Intently glued to the television screen, my wife and I looked at each other in total disbelief then uncontrollable laughter while with OJ sitting in the backseat of his white bronco outside his Brentwood Estate eyewitness Mr. Higgins reported to Peter Jennings, "Now lookee here...I see OJ and he look scared." HAHAHAHAHA!!! Where someone was the exact moment of the OJ car chase is almost as memorable as the JFK assasination or 9-11 for most but thanks to a prank phone caller I was laughing my ass off this time as Mr.Higgins broke a moment that was "quite tenses."

Today's featured artist did not make that particular call but he was the man responsible for making such breaking news calls popular. Of course Dan Rather would probably say unpopular but as we all know he is an idiot...but that's beside the point. The legendary prankster Captain Janks was one of the first Stern celebrities that I contacted when I first began building the shrine almost three years ago and he was quite helpful. Totally new to the internet I stumbled upon his website and emailed him my request for an autograph. He wrote back that he did not have any 8x10s but directed me to his friend's site, Kenneth Keith Kallenbaugh. A few weeks later Kenneth's autographed headshot was the first one added after Howard's. A very exciting day. But I didn't give up on Janks. After a few more emails failed, plan b was launched. It was my "wife's" letter to the show, read on the air, that resulted in two autographed photos from Howard. "She" struck again sending a handwritten letter to Captain Janks telling him what big fans we were. Lady Luck was with us again as a received shortly after a signed CD cover from the Captain personalized to the entire family. NICE!!

Love his calls or hate them Captain Janks has no doubt changed the face of live news coverage. Watching reports of the recent shuttle disaster I believe I saw first hand the effect he has had. While Captain Janks had his way with CBS and other networks covering the story, ABC was playing RECORDED eyewitness accounts. It is no secret that I have always enjoyed a Crank Janker type call over his type calls as far as repeat listening goes but if you ever catch Captain Janks or someone he has inspired in action LIVE like the Mr. Higgins call it will be a moment in time you will never forget. Coming out of retirement not too long ago Janks recently started a new website. I emailed him off of his site with a request for an interview and the Captain came through once again. Hope you enjoy.

Janks: The true fact as to why I do them is that they are usually funny, and the ones that aren't are just plain interesting. It's kind of like Real TV in the sense that the calls are live, and almost never scripted. They also show the vulnerability of the media which we have always looked at as invincible. (Or them, at least) People like Dan Rather are not singled out for a prank. They just happened to be the network on first, with the need to break a story before their competitors. Television is a form of entertainment. I make these calls because they're different. Just another form of entertainment.

Doc: Is there no limit to the degree of a tragedy you interrupt with a prank call?

Janks: I don't do these calls hoping for a tragedy. I feel the same sense of compassion for other people that everyone else feels. It's a prank call. That's all.